Activity of the monthMake a pop-up robin card December

The robin is a common sight in our gardensand woodlands. With its red breast andbright, beady, black eyes, the robin is muchloved, and is Britain’s national bird.

Robins have a sweet and mournful songand unlike most birds, will sing all throughthe winter. If you hear a robin singing, waitand listen closely. You may well hearanother robin answering from nearby.

Robins have been linked to Robin Hood, a legendary outlaw who stole from therich and gave to the poor and also to Robin Goodfellow, a nature spiritotherwise known as Puk. Perhaps because of this, robins are often seen ascheeky and mischievous characters, and will often boldly hop right up togardeners, looking to see if they have uncovered any juicy worms or beetles.

There are various stories about how the robin got its red breast. In one tale, therobin helped the wren to bring fire from heaven, burning its chest red. Inanother story, the robin fanned a fire to keep baby Jesus warm in his manger. Ashe did so, the flames singed his breast which forever remained red as areminder of this noble deed.

The robin first became associated withChristmas in the Victorian days, whenpostmen used to wear red coats and wereknown as ‘Robin Redbreasts’. To this day,robins often feature on Christmas cards,sometimes holding a letter in their beak.

Why not make your own pop up robinChristmas card or decoration? See thenext pages to find out how.

© Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project 2019 www.avongorge.org.uk

You will need …● The robin template from the back page● An A4 sheet of red paper● Coloured card● Scissors● Colouring pens● A glue stick

1. Colour in the robin picture andcut it out carefully.

2. Take your red paper and cut it in half to make twoA5 sheets. Take one half and fold it in four to make aconcertina or fan.

3. Cut out the heart-shaped template andfold it in half. Line up the centre of theheart template with the side of the fanwhich has two folds. Draw round thetemplate, then repeat below. You should fitthree heart shapes down the length of yourfan.

4. Cut out these shapes - they should unfoldto give you a collection of heart shapes.

© Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project 2019www.avongorge.org.uk

5. Take the first heart. Fold it closed and put alittle glue on the outside face. Take anotherheart and stick the outer faces together. Repeatthis until you have a little booklet of hearts. Ifyou want to make this thicker, you can cut moreheart shapes out of the other half of your redpaper, but don’t let it get too thick or your cardwon’t close easily.

6. Take your heart booklet and stick it onto yourrobin picture. It should line up nicely with thered breast of your robin.

7. Take your coloured card and fold it in half. Youmight like to decorate the front of your card andadd a seasonal message. Next, line up your robinso that the centre of the heart runs up the insideof the card. Glue it down.

To make a decoration instead of a card, stickyour robin onto card and cut round it. Add a loopof ribbon or string to the back of your robin andhang on your Christmas tree or window.

© Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project 2019 www.avongorge.org.uk

© Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project 2019 www.avongorge.org.uk

Robin template

Heart-shapedtemplate